1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to the manufacturing and application of fiber-reinforced concrete, and asphalt. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus for and method of metering and dispensing bulk fibers or other additives into a base material, such as concrete, asphalt, and plastics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Metering and dispensing bulk fibers is a difficult process. One conventional manner of dispending fiber into concrete is simply by hand. However, fiber is typically very lightweight and tends to bind, bridge, cling, and “ball-up” during the dispensing operation.
Certain mechanistic fiber dispensers do exist in the prior art. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 7,736,569 to Baur et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,645 to Ives et al.; U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2004/025542 to Clausen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,610 to Ives et al.; PCT Pub. No. WO2009014952 to Ramnarine; U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,362 to Galinat et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,774 to Clipston et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,706 to Dearlove et al. However, each of the foregoing references are very complex and have many moving parts, thus overcomplicating the manufacture, use and maintenance of the apparatus. Additionally, the foregoing references can be inaccurate and importantly fail to provide an even distribution of fiber in the concrete.
Accordingly, what is needed is a simplified bulk fiber dispenser for metering and dispensing bulk fibers accurately, efficiently, and evenly. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill how the art could be advanced.
All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.